Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Event Analysis 11/1

Due
to my busy schedule and hurricane Sandy, I was forced to read Father Linnane’s
State of the University Address 2012. He began by stating how thankful and
proud he is to be the president of Loyola University for 8 years now, from
2005-2012. Throughout the entire speech, which was extremely informative, one
line stuck with me. Father is reaching for our University to be, “not one of
the leading (catholic universities). The leading (catholic university)”. That
alone assured me in my decision in choosing Loyola due to its growth and the
Jesuit influence on education and our ways of life. Another thought rose to my
attention while listening that tied to our readings from Thursday afternoon.
Emily Dickinson once wrote a poem entitled “Tell all the Truth but tell it
slant”, and I wondered how I could connect this poem to Father’s speech.
Dickinson’s poem, to me, meant that one should always tell the truth, but tell
it to favor oneself. In effect alter the story so much as to save one but still
tell the truth. After everything Father said, it was all positives about
Loyola. While there are many, there are negatives to everything and they should
equally be addressed. I felt the address was “slanted” towards a more positive
vibe and not so realistic. I am proud to be a Greyhound; there is no mistaking
that, however the speech could have been more honest. I also connected his
address to “In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound. Loyola took a step back
and, under the Jesuit tradition, opened its eyes to those in need around the
community. Similar to the character watching the people of the Metro, Loyola
realized the community around it needed help and set up organizations and
programs to help. Overall I felt the speech was extremely informative and opened
my eyes as to why I truly chose Loyola University.